The Sacramento Kings turned some heads when they verbally agreed to a four-year deal worth close to $90 million with swingman Harrison Barnes. And with free agency set to begin on Sunday evening, they may not be done throwing money around.
Boston Celtics center Al Horford declined his player option for the 2019-20 season, and although it was expected that he would re-negotiate a new deal with the Celtics, he appears to be headed out of Beantown. The Kings are ready to pounce.
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee first tweeted that the Kings were expected to make a “massive” offer to Horford as soon as free agency opened:
A well-placed league source tells The Sacramento Bee the Kings are expected to make a massive offer to Al Horford when free agency begins at 3 p.m. PDT, and there is mutual interest on both sides. I'm told Horford's camp has not scheduled meetings with any teams today.
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) June 30, 2019
This was later confirmed by Marc Stein of The New York Times:
A confirmed Al Horford suitor at last' The Kings "definitely" have significant interest in Horford, according to sources briefed on Sacramento's thinking — and have the cap space to pay Al the reported four-year deal worth in excess of $100 million circulating for the past week
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2019
Indeed, the Kings have plenty of cap space available, even with Barnes' impending cap hit. They submitted a qualifying offer to current center Willie Cauley-Stein (making him a restricted free agent), but this was likely a precautionary measure in case the Kings miss out on Horford.
Sacramento was one of the breakout teams in the NBA. Despite missing the playoffs, the Kings were in the hunt for the eighth seed for the majority of the season, and excellent campaigns from the likes of De'Aaron Fox and Buddy Hield bode well for the future.
However, Sam Amick of The Athletic reports that despite Sacramento's desire to land Horford, they are not expecting to sign him:
Despite the Kings' significant interest in Al Horford and plans to make a massive offer, a source tells @TheAthletic that they are under the impression he's likely heading elsewhere.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) June 30, 2019
Horford has drawn interest from teams around the league since he declined his player option, and given his age (33), he is more likely to sign with a contender.
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